


Guys Like Us

by hoffkk



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Arrow - Freeform, Crossover, Friendship, Gen, M/M, Relationship Advice, SnowBarry - Freeform, The Flash - Freeform, barriver, crossover AU, flarrow, olicity - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-13
Updated: 2016-01-13
Packaged: 2018-05-13 17:01:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5710132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hoffkk/pseuds/hoffkk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oliver tells Barry he was wrong when he said "Guys like them don't get the girl" and that he was also wrong about which girl.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Guys Like Us

**Author's Note:**

> NOTE: PLATONIC BARRY AND OLIVER FANFIC - BARRIVER BROTP DISCUSSES SNOWBARRY AS POSSIBLE OTP!
> 
> This is a flarrow crossover AU set during Arrow season 4 and The Flash season 2. Oliver gives Barry some advice on love based off of his thriving relationship with Felicity and Barry learns that his feelings have shifted since last year. This, like many others was done as a response to a prompt request on tumblr (also under the name hoffkk). I hope you all like it. Feel free to comment or leave kudos or share with friends! Please and thank you!

Oliver and Barry were putting their super suits back on their designated mannequins inside STAR Labs after another successful superhero collaboration when Oliver noted that Barry was uncharacteristically quiet.  He had been that way ever since they had saved Caitlin and defeated Cicada, an immortal metahuman who extends his life span by sucking the life force from others.  Team Flash first caught on to him when they figured out he was behind the killing spree of numerous Central City citizens that had only two things in common: they were all killed with a lightning bolt shaped dagger and they were all once saved by the Flash.  After a few run-ins with Cicada, the team quickly realized he was essentially immortal and that stopping him wasn't going to be easy.  Before they could come up with a new and effective plan for capturing him rather than hurting him, Cicada had kidnapped Caitlin right from under their noses.  It was then that Barry knew he couldn't handle this meta on his own and that he needed some back-up from Star City.  Oliver and the gang were of course happy to oblige.  After all, Caitlin was a friend of theirs too, not to mention ,they happened to know a few things about immortality from previous adventures.

It wasn't easy by any means, but they worked together and managed to capture Cicada who was now being escorted to Oliver's prison on Lian Yu personally by Amanda Waller and her goons.  He thought now that everything was over, Barry would be back to his regular, dorky self, but he wasn't.  Something was clearly bothering him still.  Oliver could tell and though he wasn't the best at talking about feelings, he figured he should give it a shot for Barry's sake.  So, he clapped Barry on the back of the shoulder and said,

"Hey, you did good today."  So, it wasn't the most brilliant set of words, but at least Oliver was trying.

"I don't know about good,"  Barry replied, rubbing at the back of his neck, then flicked his eyes across the room toward Caitlin as he finished.  "but the bad guy is behind bars and everyone's safe.  That's all that matters."

"It's not your fault, you know."  Oliver responded after a beat, following Barry's eyes and reading in between the lines.  "You were where you were supposed to be, doing what you were supposed to be doing.  Caitlin's getting grabbed was just an unfortunate, unforeseen event."

"Yeah and it nearly got her killed!"  Barry half-shouted, visibly upset with himself for not being able to catch Cicada sooner.

Suddenly, Cisco appeared behind them and upon catching the last part of their conversation, he felt the need to comment, "Technically he wasn't going to kill her.  He was going to use her body as a vessel for the resurrection of his dead wife's soul and..."  He paused to take in the pointed looks on his friend's faces that were covered in varying shades of anger and annoyance.  Barry's didn't bother him much, but the look Oliver wore gave him a chill as Cisco watched him cross his arms and flex his muscles.  He slowly swallowed then proceeded to finish his sentence.  "and clearly I said the wrong thing, so I'm just gonna leave this here,"  Cisco paused, placing the newly repaired and improved quiver between the mannequins.  "And leave you two to your little whatever this is...yeah, okay."  He finished hastily before returning himself to the room down the hall.

Oliver stifled a smile before returning his focus to Barry.

"Look, Barry, you can't beat yourself up over this.  You just have to be happy it worked out well this time and move on because next time you may not be so lucky."  Oliver told him.

"I know, I know."  Barry nodded.  "But that's easier said than done."

"Trust me.  I get it."  Oliver agreed.  "Do you know how many times I have blamed and tortured myself over the same thing?  About as many times as my friends and family have been kidnapped, which is a lot of times."  He explained, answering his own question.

"So, how do you let it go?"  Barry wondered aloud.

"Well, It was difficult at first... but now I have a beautiful, blonde, tech genius girlfriend that reminds me that those unfortunate moments are not my fault, that they're solely the fault of my enemies."  Oliver smirked, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

It worked.  Barry grinned in response, looking more like himself again.

"Yeah, about that..."  Barry began as he crossed his arms over his chest and eyed Oliver cheekily.  "What happened to 'guys like us don't get the girl.'?" He questioned, bringing up Oliver's past advice.

Oliver opened his mouth to speak, but the only thing that came out was a short, breathy laugh.  Closing and opening it again, he was now able to speak through the boyish grin he wore anytime Felicity was on the mind.

"It turns out I was wrong."  He noted.

"Wow." Barry was a bit shocked at his words.  "That's gotta be the first time you said that."

"Definitely."  Oliver nodded coolly before adding, "Unless, you ask Felicity."

That earned a big chuckle from Barry who just smiled and shook his head as he replied, "Man, she's got you pretty whipped, doesn't she?"

"Not at all..." He trailed off, looking at Barry, who eyed Oliver as he finished his statement, "Unless I ask Felicity?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Oliver acquiesced with a shrug, feigning seriousness, which made Barry laugh harder.  "And while we are on the subject," Oliver said, actually being serious this time.  "I think I was wrong about one other thing in giving you that advice last year."

"What other thing?"  Barry questioned, suddenly confused.

"The girl."  Oliver answered simply.

Barry's brow furrowed as he replied, "I'm not following..."

"Well, before...when I originally gave you the advice, I was talking about your feelings for Iris, but it would seem that your feelings have since shifted."  He explained, nodding his head subtly toward Caitlin who was still across the room, hovered over a computer screen with Felicity who was talking a-mile-a-minute about the new program she loaded into the system.

"Caitlin?  You think I like Caitlin?"  Barry asked, taken aback.

"No..."  Oliver said.

"Oh."  Barry muttered, feeling relieved all of a sudden.

"I think you love her."  Oliver finished.

"Well, _I_ think Cicada hit you in the head one too many times."  Barry said, rejecting the idea.  He wasn't in love with Caitlin.  He couldn't be.  Could he?

"Oh, come on, Barry.  I saw the way you acted while Caitlin was gone.... yelling and throwing things..."

"So, I was upset.  That tends to happen when my friends and family get abducted."  Barry noted.

"Okay,"  Oliver gave in a bit, then got ready to push back.  "but you've never been upset like that before."  He said with certainty.

"And how would you know?"  Barry retorted, slightly annoyed.

"Because I could see it in their faces.  Cisco and Joe... they were surprised, they weren't used to seeing you like that, so scared and mad and completely hell-bent on getting the bad guy no matter what it takes."

"What's your point?"  Barry asked, irritated that Oliver's explanation was actually making sense.

"My _point_ ,"  Oliver stressed the word.  "is that you were acting the way I usually do when Felicity is in trouble... because I can't stand the thought of anything bad happening to her, because I can't stand the thought of losing the woman that I love."

Barry's eyes went wide.  It was like a bell suddenly went off in his head, but instead of hearing a chime reverberating, he heard Oliver's last few words echo in his mind: _"...I can't stand the thought of losing the woman that I love... the woman that I love... the woman that I love..."_

He had to admit, it was hard knowing that Caitlin was in trouble because of him, because of their night job, the one that basically only existed because he was the Flash.  He also had to admit that he did go pretty crazy when they realized Caitlin was gone and then again when they figured out Cicada's plan for her.  Barry couldn't help his reaction though.  Caitlin was important to him.  He cared about her and, yes, loved her, but it was platonic.  At least that's what he always thought, but now... now he wasn't so sure.

"Barry?"  Oliver called out to him after a long moment, tone laced with concern, even though he found his friend's state a bit humorous at the moment.

"How did you know?"  Barry asked abruptly, ignoring Oliver's question.

"Know what?"  Oliver inquired, feeling like they were on two different pages right now.

"That you loved Felicity, like _really_ loved her... as more than a friend."  Barry elaborated.

Oliver put his hands in his pockets and shrugged as he answered, "Diggle told me."

"He told you?" Barry asked incredulously, holding back a laugh.

"Yep."  Oliver said with a slight nod as he worked to hide a smile that was threatening to form.  "I mean, deep down I already knew, but you see, Barry, sometimes with so much going on in your mind and with your..." He paused to find the right word.  "...night job, it's easy to miss what is going on right in front of you.  Sometimes, you need a different perspective, an _outside_ perspective, to set you straight and show you what exactly you're missing.  That's why Diggle told me and why I am now telling you... you are in love with Caitlin."

At the mention of her name, Barry's eyes traveled to Caitlin once more, and he bit his lip.  Sure, there were things he loved _about_ her like her passion for science, her intelligence, how much she cares about her friends, how she always makes bad jokes that are somehow still funny, not to mention, she is beautiful.  But how is he supposed to know how deep his feelings for her actually run?

"I'm just not so sure--" Barry began to voice his inner thoughts to Oliver when he was suddenly interrupted.

"Close your eyes."  Oliver commanded.

"Excuse me?"  Barry questioned, a furrow in his brow.

"Just do it."  He reiterated his command.

"Okay.  Fine."  Barry reluctantly agreed as he threw his arms up in surrender, then let them fall to his sides.  He stood up straight, let out a breath, and waited for Oliver to make the next move.

"Think about Cisco."  Oliver ordered, eyes focused on Barry who stood only a couple feet in front of him.

"O-kaaay."  Barry responded, unsure of where Oliver was going with this little exercise.

"Don't talk."  Oliver retorted.

Barry did a zipping the lips gesture with his hand and mouth, then waited for Oliver to continue.

"Now think about Iris."  Oliver waited for a moment before going.  "And now Joe."  After another pause, Oliver gave his last command.  "Now, I want you to think about Caitlin."

Barry thought of each of his friends as Oliver said their names, picturing each one as he did so.  When picturing Caitlin, Barry went to a moment from a few days ago.  She was standing over a microscope, looking at some slides and doing some research.  Her wavy, reddish-brown hair hung loose over her shoulders and she was doing that adorable lip-biting thing she always did when she was worried or deep in thought about something.  He had watched her for only a few seconds before she sensed his presence and looked up, giving him one of her sweet smiles.  It was an nice, innocent moment that for some reason stuck with Barry, giving him a few flutters in the stomach the moment it happened and every time he thought about it.

Barry was aware of the flutters, but since they were almost second nature at this point, he didn't give them much thought.  However, what Barry was _not_ aware of was his shifting facial expression.  He wasn't aware that the corners of his mouth turned upward at the mention of her name.  He wasn't aware that the more he thought about Caitlin and that moment they shared, the wider his smile became and the higher his cheek bones rose.

Oliver, on the other hand, was very aware, and wasn't about to let it go unnoticed.

"Just as I thought."  Oliver stated matter-of-factly.

"What?"  Barry asked, eyes flying open to meet Oliver's steely blue ones.

"Your face.  It held the same dead-panned expression the whole time... until I mentioned Caitlin.  Once I mentioned her, you couldn't help but smile."  Oliver answered with a smirk.

"That's just because she's a great friend."  Barry tried to explain.  "She's loving, she's supportive, and she's not afraid to tell me the truth or tell me off.  She's amazing, she's..."  Barry paused a moment, feeling like he was just hit by a ton of bricks.  It was like a switch was just flipped in his brain and everything started making sense.  Thus, he finished his statement the only way that felt right.  "she's the woman that I love."

"Finally." Oliver replied, glad he was able to make Barry realize truth.  "I think this is the slowest I have ever seen the Flash move."  He joked, giving Barry a friendly pat on the back.

"Funny."  Barry said dryly.  "But wait...isn't this a bad thing?  Won't this just put her in danger?  What if--"

"Barry."  Oliver said firmly as he clasped his hands on both of Barry's shoulders to gain his full intention.  "Don't over think this.  Being in love with Caitlin is a _good_ thing, and in our line of work, we need all the good in our lives that we can get.  Felicity made me realize that since we face so many bad times because of bad people that when we get the chance to face good times with good people, we need to take it and cherish those moments as much as we can."

"She's a smart woman."  Barry interjected.

"The smartest."  Oliver assured as his eyes flickered over to the woman in question who appeared to still be babbling about the program she was installing.  At this Oliver could only smile for he loved how passionate she was about technology.  She really was an adorable nerd.  "As for the danger thing," Oliver said, letting go of one of Barry's arms so he could move a bit closer to address his friend's other concern more discreetly, while giving them both a better view of the girls.  "yes, your relationship will most likely make her a target, but she's a target anyway just being on the team, hence the reason we are here in the first place.  So, you might as well make the most of it."

"You're right." Barry nodded, then offered a small smile in Caitlin's direction before looking back to Oliver.

"Of course I am."  Oliver retorted cockily, patting Barry's arm for emphasis before letting go of him completely.  "Now, if you would excuse me, I'm gonna go get my girl... and I suggest you go do the same."  He finished, giving Barry a curt nod and a knowing smile before walking off.

Barry stood for a moment and just grinned as he watched Oliver go and greet Felicity and Caitlin...the woman that the loved.

"Yeah,"  Barry thought out loud, responding to Oliver's last words.  "I think I will go get my girl." 

As he started toward the group with a nervous smile and hands buried in his pockets, he finished the rest of his thought quietly in his head, thinking _"Apparently, it's what guys like us do."_


End file.
